


A New Start

by jackabelle73



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Teacher Belle (Once Upon a Time), Woobie Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, baby!Swanfire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 12:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13387788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackabelle73/pseuds/jackabelle73
Summary: Rohan Gold arrives in Storybrooke with his two-year-old son Bae and no idea how he's going to provide for his son after fleeing family troubles. While applying for childcare, he meets Miss Belle, a preschool teacher.





	A New Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moonlight91](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlight91/gifts).



> A gift fic for my friend Moonlight91.

 The sign on the street in front of the building read Storybrooke Child Development Center, so they’d found the right place.  Rohan Gold gripped his son’s hand as he climbed down from his car seat, and prayed there would be a spot for him in this program. If there wasn’t, he didn’t know what he would do. He needed to find work, and that was impossible unless he also found childcare for Bae. He was careful to lock the car before approaching the building.

The door didn’t budge when he pulled on it, but a small sign instructed him to push the buzzer for entry. Through the glass he saw a red-headed woman look up from her desk and press a button. There was an audible click from the door, and that time when he tried the handle, it opened.

“Let’s be on our best behavior, m’boy,” he whispered to Bae as they entered the building. The warmth was a welcome relief after the chilly autumn air outside. Although they were wearing jackets, they weren’t sufficient for the Maine temperatures.

The redhead came out of her office, approaching them with a smile and a hand extended. He adjusted his grip on his cane to accept her handshake.

“Hi! I’m Ariel. Can I help you?”

“I hope so,” he answered. “I’m Rohan Gold, and this is my son, Baden.” 

Ariel bent down to address his son. “Hi, Baden! It’s so nice to meet you!”

She extended a hand, but Bae only shrank against his father’s legs, his eyes wide on this stranger.

“He’s a little shy at first,” Rohan said quickly. He bent to pick Bae up and hold him on his hip, letting the boy rest against his shoulder.

“It’s okay if you need a little time, sweetie,” Ariel said to Bae, before turning her attention back to Rohan. “What can I help you with?”

“I was told that your facility provides free childcare for families in need?” he asked, posing it as a question because it just seemed too good to be true.

“We do, yes. There’s an application process, which I can get you started on, and eligibility is determined with a points system. We would evaluate your application and our slots go to the children with the most need. I’m assuming you’re looking for care for Baden?”

“Yes.”

“And how old is he?”

“He turned two last month.”

“Do you have any other children?”

“No... it’s just Bae and myself.”

“I understand.” Ariel radiated sympathy, but didn’t ask questions, which he was grateful for. He doubted she really did understand. She was much too young and perky to have an inkling of what it was like to be a single parent with a small child relying on you, with no job and no idea how to provide for your child.

“If you’ll come this way, Mr. Gold, I can get you started on the application.”

“Thank you,” he murmured, and followed her to a room with a large table and chairs dominating the back wall, and bookshelves taking up the rest of the space on the walls. There were bean bags and pillows scattered in one corner, next to a child sized bookcase that held books with colorful covers. Two boxes of toys occupied another corner.

“This is our conference room and it also doubles as our lending library,” Ariel said. “Baden can look at books or play with the toys while you’re filling out paperwork. If you want to get him settled, I’ll be right back. There’s a bathroom across the hall, if you need it.”

He thanked her and led Bae over to the book corner, picking a book at random and settling himself in one of the adult chairs at the table. He hooked his cane on the table’s edge and beckoned to Bae to climb up on his lap.

It was a counting book. He took Bae’s tiny hand in his own, and used it to point at the first illustration.

“One,” he said clearly. “One fish.” He moved his hand to the next page, pointing at the pictures one at a time as he spoke the numbers. “One, two. Two ducks. What does a duck say?”

Bae made an approximation of a quacking sound, his voice soft.

“Very good!” Ariel said brightly, entering the room in time to hear Bae’s answer. “Do you know what a dog says?”

Bae turned into his father, hiding his face.

“I apologize,” Rohan said. “He hasn’t been around many people.”

“That’s quite all right.” She laid a stack of papers and pen on the table. “I’m afraid there’s a quite a bit of paperwork. The Head Start program does their best to drown us in it. I need to be tending to the phones and door, so if you don’t mind, I’ll leave you to get started, and come back to check on you.”

He nodded, already feeling a sense of dread as he regarded the stack of papers. 

The door closed behind Ariel and he sighed, picking up the pen. With one arm still around Bae, he filled in the basic information at the top of the first page. Names and birthdates were easy enough. He flinched when he came to the address. He contemplated making something up, but in the end, left it blank.

“Book, Papa. Book.” Bae tried to nudge it into his hands, wanting him to read it again.

“Sweetheart, I need to work on this. Why don’t you get another book and sit right next to me?”

Bae didn’t want to leave his lap, but with some effort, Rohan convinced him to sit in the chair next to him with several more books they’d retrieved, and look at them quietly while he continued filling out paperwork.

Or rather, not filling it out. There was so much that he was forced to leave blank. Job info? He had no job. Family members to call in case of emergency? He had no one. It was just himself and Bae. Income. He fought the urge to laugh hysterically and answer ‘see above’ with an arrow pointing to the blank job info section. 

After a while, Bae got down from the chair and toddled over to the book shelf, and Rohan felt relieved that his boy was feeling comfortable enough to leave his side. A few moments later, an aroma wafting its way to him told him the real reason Bae had gone off by himself.

Damn. He wanted to rage… against who or what, he didn’t know. He couldn’t blame his son for performing a perfectly natural bodily function, but he had exactly one pack of diapers left, in the car that held all their worldly possessions, and he didn’t know how long those diapers would need to last.

Ariel entered with that seemingly permanent smile on her face.

“How are we doing with that paperwork?” she asked, before a look crossed her face. “Whoa. Does somebody have some junk in the trunk?” she teased Bae, who ducked behind the small bookcase to hide.

“I’m so sorry--” he started, but Ariel laughed and waved off his apology.

“Oh, please. We are _so_ used to it. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you into a classroom where you can change him.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any diapers with me. We’ll change him when we leave here.”

“Not a problem. We have everything you need.” He hesitated. “Head Start provides diapers and wipes for the children who attend here, Mr. Gold. When we say it’s a free childcare program, we mean it. We’re used to providing those necessities, and there’s no reason for your son to sit in a stinky diaper and risk a rash.”

“Thank you,” he said.

Gathering up his cane and Bae, he followed her down the hall, smelling something much more pleasant than his son’s diaper. Food was being cooked somewhere nearby, and his stomach rumbled. Ariel led them into a classroom abuzz with activity.

“Miss Anna, Miss Belle, this is Mr. Gold and his son Baden. They need to use your changing station, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course. Right in there.”  He was directed by another young woman with red hair, whose open smile announced that she was just as perky as Ariel. Was the entire staff on uppers?

He entered the bathroom and looked around. There was a changing mat on a counter, with a raised edge for safety, a child sized toilet and a sink with steps leading up to it. Plastic containers with children’s names on them lined the shelf over the counter, and each container – except one that was empty -- had clothes in them. There was a diaper pail on the floor next to the toilet roll dispenser, and a pack of wipes on the half wall that separated this bathroom from another bathroom that was apparently used by the classroom next door, but he didn’t see any diapers.

“Look in the drawer,” a soft voice behind him said.

This one was even more petite than her co-workers, making him feel tall. She had bright blue eyes and chestnut hair pulled back in a low ponytail.  Although she offered a friendly smile, her demeanor was calmer than the first two he met.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

“The diapers are in the drawer,” she explained, and edged past him in the limited space to pull a drawer open. Looks like little Baden here is a…. size four, maybe?” 

He eyed the diaper she held up. “That looks about right.”

“Well… wipes up here, and there are plastic gloves if you prefer to use them. I’ll leave you to it.” With a smile and a swish of her long skirt, she left.

He laid Bae on the mat and tickled his belly, making him kick his legs and giggle.

“Let’s see what kind of mess you’ve made for me, hmm?”

While he worked, he stole glances out the large window over the changing mat, which offered a view of most of the classroom. The children seemed to be cleaning up from the morning’s activities.  After all toys were put away under the direction of their teachers, the children helped wipe the low tables – though he could see that the teachers were doing most of the work – and then they moved out of his range of vision, apparently congregating right outside the bathroom door. He heard repeated directions from the teachers that made it obvious the children were washing their hands.

He’d disposed of the smelly diaper and was standing Bae on the counter to pull his pants up when the classroom door opened, and Ariel came back in. She had papers in her hand that he recognized as the stack he’d been filing out, and she beckoned to someone.

The young woman who’d shown him the diapers went over to talk to her, and they both bent over the papers for a moment. He saw them glancing his way.

God, he was pathetic. What must they think of a single father who walked with a cane, who didn’t have a job or a home address? He’d be lucky if they didn’t call Social Services on him and take Bae away.

A cart was pushed through the still open door, and he smelled food, making his stomach talk again, more insistently this time.

“Mr. Gold?” That young teacher stood in the doorway again. “Lunch has just arrived. Have either of you eaten yet?”

His immediate impulse was to refuse her kind offer, but he looked at Bae and swallowed his pride.

“No, we haven’t.” Truth be told, he hadn’t eaten anything today. He’d given Bae a pack of crackers and a banana from the small stash of food they’d brought with them, but he’d taken nothing for himself.

“You’re welcome to join us. It’ll give Baden a chance to see the classroom, start to get familiar with the other kids.”  

“Well, maybe for Bae,” he conceded. His stomach growled so loudly at that moment, that he was sure she must have heard it. But it was more important for Bae to eat.

“If you want to wash your hands, and Bae’s, I’ll set a place for you at the table.”

After washing their hands at the sink, he carried his son out into the classroom. The children were seated at two tables, four at one table and three at another. The teachers moved around, dispensing food onto the plates.

“Right over here, Mr. Gold. You can set Baden at this spot. I’m Miss Belle, by the way, and my co-teacher over there is Miss Anna.”

He returned the other teacher’s cheerful hello and moved to the table with an empty child’s chair.  When he tried to set Bae down, the small boy clung to him with arms and legs, refusing to let go.

“No! Papa!”

“Here,” the young teacher said, and replaced the child size chair at Bae’s spot with another, still child sized but this one didn’t have arm holds on the sides, making it easier for an adult to sit in it. “Why don’t you sit down, and keep Baden in your lap?”

“Thank you,” he murmured, lowering himself with care into the absurdly small seat. He propped Bae on his good knee, awkwardly stretching his bad leg out below the table, as best he could. His cane he laid on the floor next to him.

Miss Belle seated herself at the head of the table, next to Rohan, and addressed the children.

“This is Mr. Gold, and his son Baden. Can you say hi?” A couple of the children gave shy waves. “Today we’re having chicken salad with crackers, and broccoli, and pineapple. Remember to use your spoons, please.”

As she talked to the children, she served food onto a plastic plate from the large bowls set in front of her, and added a spoon and napkin before setting it in front of Rohan. Milk was poured into four little cups before being passed out to the children.

Rohan scooped up a piece of pineapple, and offered it to his son. He looked back at him, brown eyes wide with uncertainty about this new place and all these new people.

“It’s alright,” he whispered to him, and Bae wrapped his tiny hand around his papa’s, bringing the spoon to his mouth and eating the fruit.

“Shall I introduce the children?” Miss Belle asked. “The little girl to your left is Emma, and across from her is Grace. This little boy here is August, and you’re Baden, is that right?” she asked Bae, with a playful lilt to her voice.

Bae shrank back against his father again.

“I apologize,” Rohan repeated what he’d told the receptionist. “He hasn’t been around many people. I’ve always cared for him at home; it’s always been the two of us.” He rubbed Bae’s back and dropped a kiss on his soft hair. “And... he’s been through a lot of changes lately.”

“That’s all right. I don’t want to distract him from eating his lunch, so maybe we’ll talk later. You should eat too, Mr. Gold. We have plenty.”

She turned to the red-headed boy on her right, chiding him to wipe off the food that dripped down his chin. When she started talking to the two girls at the other side of the table, and didn’t appear to be paying attention to Rohan and his son, Bae relaxed enough to reach for a cracker on his plate. He looked to his father for approval before biting into it.

Once he got started, Bae applied himself to the meal and soon slid down from Rohan’s lap, standing between his knees to reach the plate better. With the spoon grasped in his chubby fist, he scooped up pineapple, managing to deliver most it to his mouth, till that section of the plate was empty. The crackers disappeared next, and Rohan directed his son’s hand to the chicken salad, scooping up a small dollop and offering it to Bae. The boy wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

“Sometimes it helps if the children see the parents eat it first,” Miss Belle commented, looking not at Rohan and Bae, but at the pigtailed blonde girl next to them. “Isn’t that right, Emma?”

He’d fully intended to not eat, but swallowed the bite.

“Hmm…that’s… pretty good.”

“Yes, we’re very lucky with our cook. She not only cooks meals that taste good, but she always gives us plenty of food and then some. We nearly always have food left over.”

The chicken salad _was_ good, though at that point anything would have tasted good to Rohan. He ate another bite, saying ‘yum’ and smiling at Bae. When he scooped up a third portion, Bae redirected his father’s hand to his own mouth, taking a cautious bite. His brow crinkled as he chewed, as if he was unsure of this new food, but he swallowed it.

“Here, wash it down, Bae.” Rohan offered the cup of milk to him, and as he watched him drink it, another spoonful of pineapple was dropped on their plate, and Miss Belle pushed more crackers their way with a small smile. The fruit and crackers continued to disappear as quickly as they were put on Bae’s plate, the chicken only when Rohan presented it to his son. The broccoli got an “I’m not touching that” face, even when Rohan ate it himself to set an example. Resigned that Bae wouldn’t be getting his vegetables today, he ate the broccoli himself, feeling the hunger pains in his stomach ease.

While he was focused on his son, Miss Belle kept up a steady stream of chatter with the other children at the table, asking them about their home life in between reminding them to use their spoons and not fingers, and wipe their mouths. More food was distributed as the children ate. Through all of this, Miss Belle ate her own meal, and Rohan could see that the other table where Miss Anna sat was being operated in a similar fashion.

When the children’s rate of consumption seemed to be slowing down, Miss Belle stood from the table and came back with an additional plastic plate. She filled it with generous portions of everything, and set it in front of Rohan with a smile.

“Oh, no. I don’t want to take food from the children,” he protested.

“You’re not, I promise. They’re almost done, and we still have plenty left,” she said, gesturing to the serving bowls which still held a considerable amount of food. “Anything we don’t eat, we have to throw away, and I hate wasting it. So please, eat as much as you want.”

Well, when she put it that way, it was hard to refuse. So he thanked her and began eating from his own plate, while still monitoring Bae and encouraging him to eat as much as he wanted. When Bae’s milk cup emptied, Miss Belle sat two cartons of milk in front of them, saying that the same rule applied to the milk, and there was no need for it to be wasted.

Pretty soon, the children at both tables grew restless and made it clear that they were done eating. There was a flurry of activity around them, as the teachers supervised the children taking their own plates and cups to the trash can and washing their hands. Miss Belle told Rohan he could sit as long as he wanted and finish his meal, adding that she would have more time to talk after the other children departed and they could continue the registration process.

He and Bae both ate till they were full, while simultaneously watching the activity in the classroom. After the children cleaned up from lunch, they were herded into what the teachers called the library, which was really just the corner of the room closest to the door. Miss Belle sat on one of those ridiculous tiny chairs, reading aloud to them from one book. She had a lovely accent, and read to them in a soothing voice that he imagined had calmed many an emotional child. Some of the children listened to her, and others chose to look at a book they’d chosen themselves from the shelf. Miss Anna took the children in turns to the bathroom, and within a few minutes parents started arriving to pick up their children.

When it was clear that Bae could eat no more, and Rohan himself was feeling better than he had in days for some real nourishment, he levered himself up carefully with his cane and one hand braced on the table, then encouraged Bae to help take their plate to the trash can and pour the last of the milk down the sink. He wiped his son’s mouth and sat back down, this time in a proper full-size chair, and pulled Bae into his lap. The little boy put his thumb in his mouth, nestled against his father’s chest, and promptly fell asleep, ignoring the noise and bustle around them.

Rohan had a good view of the door from his seat, and spent the next several minutes observing the parade of parents in, then out again with their children. The little red-headed boy who sat at their table was picked up by a man who looked old enough to be his grandfather, but the boy called him Papa. Well, Rohan had become a father at a later age as well. The girl that Miss Belle had introduced as Grace was also picked up by her father, a tall man dressed more elaborately than most of the parents, who seemed to be laborers and service workers to judge by their clothes. Grace squealed when she saw her father, and ran to him, to be picked up and tossed in the air.

Through all the commotion, the teachers gave each child a goodbye hug and reminded them that they’d see them again tomorrow. There were reminders to the parents to check the children’s cubbies for any items that needed to go home, and a quick conversation between Miss Anna and August’s father about the origin of a new scratch on his face, apparently obtained while playing outside earlier.

Emma, the little girl with the blonde pigtails who sat next to them at lunch, was the last to leave. She tugged her mother by the hand over to where Rohan sat with Bae in his lap.

“His name Bae,” she announced, with a toddler’s pride at knowing something her parents didn’t.

“Bae looks comfortable,” her mother smiled, and held out a hand to Rohan. “I’m Mary Margaret.”

“Rohan Gold,” he responded, making sure he could keep Bae secure with one arm before returning her handshake.

“Will Bae be attending here?”

“I’m… not sure. I just started filling out paperwork.”

“Well, good luck. It’s a wonderful program.”

He thanked her, and the door shut behind them, cutting off Emma’s excited babbling about the block tower she built that day.

“And silence descends upon the land,” Miss Belle intoned dramatically, as she sat across the table from Rohan. She was holding the already familiar stack of papers from this morning.

“If you’ve got this, Belle, I’m going to take my break,” Miss Anna announced, and she left the room.

“We’ll be able to talk more easily now,” Miss Belle began. “You’ve had a chance to observe our class, and you joined us for lunch, so what do you think of our school?”

“Umm…” He hadn’t expected to be asked for his opinion, and groped for an answer. “The children seem very happy, which is most important. Lunch was very good. Thank you again for including us in your meal. I think that Bae would enjoy attending school here… that is, after he adjusted. He’s never attended school before, or been taken care of by anyone other than myself.”

She nodded, looking thoughtful. “You don’t have to answer this, Mr. Gold, but is Baden’s mother in his life?”

“Not… anymore,” he answered, electing not to mention that she’d never been much involved, even when they all lived in the same home. Milah had put Bae into his arms the moment he was born, and never seemed to regret the choice to leave their son’s care up to him. “I had a rather extreme falling-out, with both my wife and my father. Bae and I needed a fresh start, so we got in the car and drove here. We just arrived last night.”

“And… why here? What made you choose Storybrooke?”

“I own some property here.” That was true, as far as it went. He’d leave out the details about how he didn’t know there was property in his name here, and he suspected that either his wife or father had put it in his name only to avoid association with their criminal records. It was only when the authorities were auditing all their business dealings that the Storybrooke properties became known to him. When it was determined that there was nothing illegal with the deeds in Storybrooke, the police allowed him to leave town. Storybrooke, Maine seemed as good a destination as any. “We couldn’t stay where we were.”

“Sounds like the two of you have been through quite the upheaval. No wonder Bae is exhausted. Would you like to lay him on a cot?”

Before he could answer, she brought out a child size cot and quickly covered it with a sheet, motioning for him to lay Bae down. There was a single whined protest from his son, but Rohan calmed him with a hand stroking his head, and Bae sank down onto the cot. Miss Belle covered him with a blanket before returning to the table.

“Thank you. It seems you think of everything.”

“Will you be living at one of your properties, Mr. Gold? I noticed you left the address section blank.”

“Well, I… hope to be, yes. I haven’t been able to contact the man who oversees the properties, to find out their status.”

“And until then?”

He opened his mouth, but couldn’t make the words come out. If he said it aloud, that he and Bae had spent the past three nights in the car, and would continue to do so till he could sort out some accommodation for them… his greatest fear could be realized. He could lose Bae.

“Mr. Gold… I think you’ll find we’re a non-judgmental group. As long as you’re trying your best to provide for your son, we’ll do what we can to help you.”

He looked into her kind, trusting eyes, and made himself say it. “We’re living in the car till I can find us a place. When I said the falling-out with my family was extreme… my wife and father worked together in the business that he’d started, and it turns out that not all their activities stayed on the right side of the law. I needed to get away from them, to keep Bae safe. We weren’t able to take much in the way of cash or assets when we left.”

“So you lost everything?” she asked sympathetically.

He started to answer yes, then glanced over to the cot as Bae snuffled in his sleep and brought his thumb to his mouth. Rohan couldn’t help the corners of his mouth from turning up, and leaned over the brush Bae’s hair from his eyes.

“Not everything,” he told Miss Belle, straightening up. “I have Bae, and he’s the most important part of my life. I’ll do anything to keep him safe, and happy.”

“I think, Mr. Gold, that your son is very lucky to have you.”

“Is there a spot for him in this program? I need to find some sort of work, and that will be difficult without childcare.” He held his breath while waiting for her answer, fighting an urge to beg.

“I’m not the one who makes that decision, Mr. Gold, but I think your chances are good. Storybrooke is one of the few Head Start centers in the country that doesn’t have a months-long waiting list. Truthfully, this is a more affluent community than most where our centers are located. But our residents like having the services we provide, and the community support helps us stay open. Our classroom was fully enrolled at the beginning of the year, but one of the children never showed up, so we have an opening. You’re the first family to apply after we officially dropped that child from our roster. If we can get through the paperwork today, we might get Baden enrolled before the end of the week.”

His shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you, Miss Belle.”

She chuckled as she tamped the already neat paper stack into perfect alignment. “The _children_ call me Miss Belle, so we can teach them to address adults with respect. The parents call me Belle.”

“Belle,” he repeated, liking the way her name sounded without the formal title. “You may call me Rohan, if you wish.”

He didn’t offer his first name often. Most people called him Gold, at his request. He’d been teased as a child for having an unusual name, so in adulthood it just seemed easier to go by his last name.

“That’s a beautiful name,” she said, and the smile that accompanied her declaration, made him catch his breath for a moment. “Tell me, Rohan, do you know the meaning of your name?”

“I can’t say I do.” He’d had no desire to research a name that had only ever been a torment to him.

“I read a book once, in which the protagonist had that name. I liked it, so I looked it up. It means _ascending_.” She pushed the papers across to him, along with a pen. “I think, Rohan, that your prospects – and Bae’s – will only go up from here.”

Feeling more hopeful than he had in days, Rohan returned her smile and picked up the pen.

 


End file.
